HIS DOE, HIS DAMNATION (An Erotic Billionaire Romance) novel Chapter 123

Alaric’s POV:

A few minutes ago

I hadn’t expected my brother to show up at the club. When I was heading to my car, another car had parked right across from me. It wasn’t until I heard Nolan call my name that I realized that it was him.

And he did not look happy.

My brows drew together in question. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket, coming to a stop a few feet away from me.

And then he turned around, his eyes sweeping over the building.

“Love what you did with the place.”

“You’d love it better if you went in,” I replied flatly, my gaze narrowing at the edges. “Though something tells me that’s not why you’re here.”

“Did Mutti tell you she was planning a memorial for our late father?”

Nolan’s voice had a certain edge to it. I watched him carefully, taking note of the set in his jaw and the hard look in his eyes.

It had been a while since I saw that look in his eyes–one that I couldn’t decipher no matter how much I tried to. Nolan had loved our father for a long fucking time, and after he saw him for who he was, it seemed as though a part of him broke. But after he died, Nolan had that look in his eyes for so long.

He was only eleven.

“I shut it down,” I simply replied, leaning against my car. “The bastard doesn’t deserve a memorial.”

“Yeah, but he didn’t deserve a bullet to his fucking head either.”

Those words came out strong. Maybe a little too strong. And it was then I realized that something else truly was wrong. I pushed away from my car, taking a step toward my brother. “Whatever the hell it is you want to say to me, you should say it now. While I’m still giving you a piece of my time, that is.”

Nolan scoffed, a dark smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. “You know, I was having a hard time yesterday, with our asshole of a father being six feet underground and all. You ever wonder if he’s all bones down there or bones and a rock?” He paused when I gave him a dry look. “His heart, I mean. We both know it was hard as a fucking rock.”

My nostrils flared and I pinched the bridge of my nose, my eyes shifting to the doors to see if Meadow was coming out already. If she wasn’t out in the next ten minutes, I’d go in there and get her out.

I was tired of this damn conversation.

“You’re here with your wife, then?” he asked, dusting off invisible lint from his jacket. “Meadow?”

My gaze narrowed into slits. “Who the fuck else would I be here with, Nolan?”

He raised his hands in defense, something dark flashing in his eyes. “My bad. Anything to keep up the ruse, right?”

My body stilled. For a moment, I didn’t say anything, or move. And it was at that moment I noticed the victorious, smug smile on his face. A smile that said I’d just confirmed it.

I didn’t tell him that what Meadow and I had was an arrangement, but now he looked like he may have figured it out.

But of course, I wasn’t going to make this easy for him.

“What are you getting at?” I asked slowly, finally taking a step toward him.

Usually, when my voice went low like that, Nolan would either take a step back or try to lighten the situation. But that wasn’t what he did. Instead, he took a step forward.

“Do you love her?”

What? “Nolan-”

“Answer the damn question, Ric. Do you love her?”

My throat tightened. Did I love Meadow? I wouldn’t go as far as that.

But I respected her, adored her like the angel she was. She made me feel things I had never felt before.

Hell, she made me FEEL her.

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